


When In Rome

by oddcoupler222



Series: Oceans Apart, Miles Away [2]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-10-15 05:37:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10550972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oddcoupler222/pseuds/oddcoupler222
Summary: “You… assigned me a fake headlining interview article and made me meet you in Rome. This whole elaborate scheme instead of just calling me.”Saying it aloud made Kara laugh because even as she was incredulous, she also wasn’t. Of course Cat would do something like that.//It had been a couple of weeks since Cat Grant had kissed her and revealed that she knew about her secret identity; it was a lot to process. But sometimes even Supergirl isn't fast enough for Cat Grant's patience.





	

Writing this article should have been simple enough –

By now, Kara had already been a reporter for six months, and she’d worked for Cat long enough to have gotten good at getting the hang of things quickly. Granted, she was still learning, and she _knew_ that, but getting called into Snapper’s office and assigned a new story hadn’t really ever made her feel truly nervous. Usually just excited.

And yet…

She’d barely made it into CatCo that morning before Snapper had summoned her, and Kara had steeled herself for whatever criticisms may be coming her way even as she’d been confused. She had walked at a deliberately slow human pace, wracking her brain to figure out what she could have done to merit this expedient of an office call.

Sure, she’d been really busy in the last two weeks, given a series of strikes from Cadmus that had her, Alex, J’onn, and, well, the entire DEO working overtime. One of which had involved alien tech that her experiencing a very public and just plain _awful_ beating at the hands of one of their experiments only the previous night.

So, yeah, she had been busy with all of that, but her last article was in on time, she’d taken the time to proofread it _and_ have Winn double-check for any errors, and Snapper had already, albeit reluctantly, told her that it “wasn’t bad.”

And then, she hadn’t get any reproaches or even rude comments thrown her way when Snapper saw her. Instead, he’d told her that he was assigning her an article. A front-page headline all to herself, falling right into her lap.

“An interview,” he had told her while having his head turned away from her as he’d flicked through a few papers on his desk.

His disaffectedness hadn’t calmed her excitement, and she’d already felt it bubbling up in her stomach, was already smiling, as her mind started running with the possibilities.

She’d barely had the chance to thank him, and assure him that she would do the best job possible – after all, this would be far from her first interview. Talking to people was one of her favorite things about this job –

Before Snapper had cut her off to inform her that _no_ , _he sure as hell wouldn’t have assigned her this important an interview_ and _with her inexperience she shouldn’t be_ assigned _front page stories for years_ and _was she kidding him right now for even thinking that he would have given this to her_?

It had been enough for her excitement to falter, admittedly. And she’d pushed up her glasses to take it in for a moment before she’d asked, bewildered, the pressing question: “Why me?”

It turned out, Snapper informed her with a sigh and a flick of the wrist, jerking the paper he’d been looking for into her hands – that while he never would have assigned her on his own choice, she’d been requested.

All at once, her hopes had been raised again, because that truly _was_ a first. A first she’d dreamed of a few times in the last few months, ever since seeing her articles get published. A first that she had never known would be happening so quickly, let alone on the front page!

Then it felt like the entire world had spun in slow motion on its axis because this front page guarantee she’d been given was an exclusive interview with Cat Grant herself – and she’d been personally requested to be her interviewer.

Not only did that revelation made blue eyes widen and her heart seem to kick start into high gear, but she quickly scanned the paper with the details, fingers tightening almost too tight on the paper as she’d read aloud, “I’m supposed to interview her in _Rome_? For the next issue? But, articles for the next issue have to be written by tomorrow?” her voice squeaked out higher pitched than she’d intended, incredulous, as she’d looked up at Snapper, expecting him to correct her.

Instead, she was met with an unamused look, and a shrug, “Apparently, she thinks you’re competent enough to figure it out. Told me to tell you to check your email, and if I were you, I wouldn’t waste time.”

As soon as she’d taken a moment to register all of it, she’d turned and walked – as fast was she would as a human this time, away from his office and she’d checked her email, only to find one from Cat in her inbox, that had arrived only moments before. Like she _knew_. Like she always knew… somehow.

**_From: Cat.Grant@CatCo.wwm_**  
**_To: Kara.Danvers.1@CatCo.wwm_**  
**_Subject: Interview_**

_Café Café. Next to the Colosseum. I trust you can manage your own transportation…_

_I have to leave at 7, so don’t keep me waiting – chop chop._

She had to leave at 7… Kara had quickly done the math with the time difference and realized that she had less than an hour before Cat was going to be leaving Café Café.

So, as Kara inconspicuously stepped out from the deserted side street that she’d landed in, she adjusted her glasses and brushed her hands over her skirt, smoothing out any of the wrinkles that might have happened as she’d flown there, she reflected: this article seemed like it should be exciting.

An interview! A front page interview! With _Cat Grant_ – that was… the part that made these nerves settle in her stomach. She hadn’t even had time given to her to figure out which interview questions she should ask, really. Well. She’d thought of a few as she’d flown there, but common sense was telling her that this interview wasn’t really about the interview.

She gripped her notebook as though it would give her courage and some sort of context of what she should expect. Then again, when did she ever really know what to expect with Cat?

As soon as she turned the corner to walk toward to Café, though, she paused. Because she didn’t even have to go inside to find Cat; she was sitting outside at a table. A drink was in front of her and she had that _done_ look on her face as she tapped at something on her phone.

The sight made Kara smile without realizing it and despite the nerves that she was still feeling, she couldn’t help but enjoy the familiarity of this. Of that exact pose.

It was still so strange, not seeing Cat every day, and Kara didn’t know if or when she would get used to it even though it had been months. And now? Now there was so much _more_ to think about. Like, she’d always thought that Cat was beautiful – she was a force of nature, which no one could deny, and Kara had been in awe of her too many times to count.

But… after that _kiss_ , and the revelation that Cat really did know who she was and that she hadn’t been fooled like Kara had thought she’d been last year with J’onn acting as her double – which _of course_ she hadn’t been fooled!

Anyway. It had only been in the last couple weeks since the _kiss_ that Kara had truly started to realize the depth of the feelings that Cat inspired in her. All of those times that Cat gave her butterflies with a look or a touch or how she always craved her approval – beyond, she now knew, what she should have wanted from any other mentor. There had been the times where she’d felt like many of Cat’s… suitors hadn’t been good enough and had given her that feeling in the pit of her stomach that she now recognized as a bit of jealousy.

She’d never processed these feelings before the _kiss_. Never even known that there was something there to process.

That kiss had thrown her off balance. When Alex told her about what she felt realizing she had feelings for a woman, for Maggie, what she’d felt when she first kissed Maggie, she described it as feeling like things were all falling into place. Described it by saying that she finally understood intimacy and desire and that the “fuss” was about romance.

And even though the kiss had left her shaken and had given her revelations, it wasn’t that same way for Kara. She’d felt “the big deal” about romance and intimacy and attraction for men. Which – was fine. Bisexuality was not a foreign concept on either Earth or Krypton, but having the realization that it applied to her was enough to make her need some time to process.

Let alone the fact that she was realizing it because _Cat Grant_ , aka one of the most powerful people in the entire world who happened to be her former – current? She didn’t even know at this point – employer who was also way more experienced. Not to mention confident, brilliant, and the dozen or more adjectives she could add.

And then there was the whole issue of the fact that she had no idea where Cat stood in this mess or what she was thinking or feeling. What did the kiss mean? What did it all mean? Did it really _mean_ anything?

So, she’d been trying to process this whole thing while also dealing with Cadmus and Snapper and –

She snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Cat sharply place her phone down – which Kara recognized as the sign that she was running too late. And she knew better than that.

With another deep breath, she tried to quell the nerves and _excitement_ welling up in her stomach as she walked to the table. She thanked her abilities for the fact that she didn’t stumble at all when the image of Cat sitting with the Colosseum at her back really struck her.

Like an empress, in her own right.

Cat’s eyes locked on her from feet away and then Kara nearly did stumble, because… granted, she might not have always been the most knowledgeable judge to what Cat was thinking, but she had some of the best skills at reading the older woman than most. And even she couldn’t really tell what was going on in her head.

She _wished_ she knew.

She wished she knew what was going on in her own.

“Kara,” Cat greeted her, voice measured and Kara… well if she didn’t have her speed and vision, she might have missed the split second that Cat’s eyes roamed down her body and then back up, and the flash of _something_ in them for just a moment.

But she didn’t miss it. And the discord between her tone and that short look made her feel even more unsettled, because _what was going on_?

“Miss Grant… Cat,” she flushed at herself, but… which name did she use in this situation? “I – um, how are you doing?”

Cat quirked an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything other than a slight hum as she took a sip of her drink and Kara fidgeted in the silence for a few seconds before it was too much, and she placed her notebook down on the table as well as her phone, open to the voice record, “I didn’t have that much time to prepare for the interview, really, so I only have a few questions prepared. I thought, maybe we could start with why you left CatCo? Well, _I_ know what you, um, told me, but… what exactly would you want the general public to know?”

With a deep breath, she looked up from her notebook and then up to Cat. Where she was met with a thoughtful expression that… well, it wasn’t really encouraging. But Cat hadn’t ever really looked at her like this before. Like she was some sort of mystery.  

She drew her back up as straight as possible even while she felt nervous tingles. Which she had felt around Cat before, because – well, she’d been _Cat Grant’s intern_ , but it had never been like this. At least before, she’d known what to expect when she’d been on the receiving end of this kind of measuring silence.

Blue eyes focused first on her notebook and then slowly back to Cat’s eyes again, unable to stay away. She was a second away from asking another question before Cat placed her wine glass on the table and asked, “Did you think that it would work?”

Confused, Kara’s eyebrows drew together as she quickly tried to recollect anything Cat could have been talking about, “Um, what, exactly?”

Sharp brown eyes narrowed nearly imperceptively, but Kara noticed; granted, Kara knew just about every micro expression that could dawn on Cat’s face.

Her heart sped up when faced with an impatient lift of an eyebrow, “Don’t you know it’s a very risky move to use the Lighthouse Technique on the person who invented it?”

The words shocked Kara, and her mouth fell open in shock even as she shook her head quickly in denial, “I – what?! I haven’t… I’m not using the _Lighthouse Technique_ on you!”

Her cheeks flamed in embarrassment even though her stomach swooped low and those butterflies came back because she hadn’t known if they were going to talk about this.

But Cat only sighed, and Kara could decipher the impatience in it, but she thought… there was something else there, too. There was no time to think about it, though, when she was faced with the following words, “Kara, I taught this to you; I very literally wrote the book. I never thought you’d be using it on me, but I can recognize my own work.”

“I’m – but I’m not!” she spluttered out for a moment, before she flushed and cut herself off to speak lower before she garnered any more attention, “You didn’t text me back. If anything, _you_ were using it on _me_!”

Those were words that sounded so juvenile to be saying to Cat, and something she’d never imagined saying to her. But they were the truth.

She’d gotten that text two weeks ago, about Cat both revealing that she knew about her dual identities and that she wasn’t going to be gone forever, while she’d still been reeling from their kiss. And she’d gone through stages of panic and excitement and her lips had still been tingling. She’d texted Cat back saying _I’m glad… forever is an awfully long time_.

Then she’d spent the next few minutes wonder if that was too forward or not forward enough or – or what.

But then… nothing. She didn’t hear anything back from Cat after that, even though she’d thought about her every single day and wondered and been so uncertain. And that uncertainty had only grown when she hadn’t heard anything back from Cat. Because Cat was _not_ someone who hesitated when she wanted something. Kara knew that firsthand.

 So, if Cat had been using the Lighthouse Technique on her, well. It had been working.

But when blue eyes returned back to Cat’s face, there was no satisfaction, as though she knew she’d succeeded in rocking Kara’s whole world with a simple kiss and making it so that she was the only thing she’d thought of for days.

Instead, she was met with a fierce look of indignation, “I kissed you on a balcony in Paris and informed you that I would be returning to National City – I felt that I made myself perfectly clear. And though you’re aware that I’m not the most patient person, I am well aware that I caught you somewhat off-guard, so I was giving you _time_ ,” she finished, tapping her fingers against the table twice, and the passion in her tone made Kara’s heart warm even as she registered what she was actually saying.

“You were… you were giving me time? Because… you made your feelings perfectly clear,” she repeated, and could hear her own somewhat dazed voice, but – Cat was being patient. And waiting. For her. To process her feelings.

Kara didn’t have time to process now, however, because Cat _hmm_ ’d before shaking her head, “Well, time is over now. You don’t get any more time to process when you can’t even spare a minute to get into contact with me after I had to watch you get beat into a pulp on international news last night.”

Her voice was tempered into an angry tone that was caught somewhere between the one she used when she was frustrated with Kara for delivering the wrong temperature of coffee and when she would be exasperated with Supergirl when she would have concerns. And there was something else there…

Something that when she looked into Cat’s eyes, her mouth fell open in the realization of what this _other_ thing was today that she hadn’t been able to put her finger on. It was genuine concern. And even though she’d seen Cat’s concern for her sometimes in the past, it was different now.

Different because this was the first time she really was face-to-face with Cat, knowing that the older woman knew her. Really knew her. And even though she knew she was virtually indestructible, she was _worried_.

The thought made warmth settle comfortably inside of her, and a small smile played at her mouth, “You… were worried. About m –” she darted her eyes around them and even though no one was sitting especially close, she still flushed, “About _Supergirl_ , even though you know she’s the girl of steel.”

Cat’s eyebrows came together for a moment before her lips turned into the smallest, coyest smile, and the sight of it was somewhat familiar and very thrilling. “Yes, well, even Supergirl has moments of weakness.”

The words made Kara recall the previous night, the other fights, the other struggles. The ones that she’d faced even with Cat with her… “Yeah, she does,” she murmured in agreement, her eyes catching Cat’s and blushing at the intensity, before she swallowed hard and reeled in her thoughts to focus on the big ones.

Thoughts like: Cat kissed her on a balcony in Paris, revealed that she knew her identity, and that she was coming back to National City – whatever that meant for them. If it meant anything for them. If there was a _them_?

What did it all add up to?

“Even Supergirl has her moments of weakness, but does Cat Grant?” the words slipped out of her in a whisper before she realized what she said, and she looked away, feeling herself flush.

Her eyes were drawn back, though, unable to look away when Cat was watching her so closely. That small quirk of her lips was still there, but her eyes were pensive.

She let out a sigh and sipped at her glass once more, before murmuring, “Oh, Kara… you have no idea.”

The words rushed around Kara’s head and she stared at Cat for a few moments, watching the wind play in a few of her loose waves, wanting nothing more than to _have an_ _idea_. Have more than an idea.

It was shocking how much she wanted into Cat’s mind, her perspective… everything. In a way she hadn’t even recognized about herself before. She’d always found Cat inspiring and fascinating, but now there was something else that felt loaded between them, making her feel somewhat buzzed on the energy of it all.

Cat pushed out of her seat, though, breaking the Kara out of the easy trance she could fall into when she heard Cat speak like she knew the answers to the universe. Which, maybe she did.

“I’m sure you saw in my email that I have to leave by 7 – which is now,” she added smartly, tapping her finger against her phone to indicate the time, “Carter was on a tour with a group of people his age that his tutor suggested; I’m picking him up in a few minutes.” She reached for her purse and slim fingers closed around it before she shot Kara another look over her shoulder, “Walk with me.”

The look itself was beckoning without any words needed, and it called to Kara instantly.

And while her words sounded like a statement, a demand, she knew Cat like very few people did. No one could work for Cat Grant for so long, know every part of her, and not learn every cue from her body language, from her tones of voice. She could hear the underlying question.

Rao! She blushed at her own thoughts, because she didn’t… _know_ every part of Cat. Like, in that way, of course. _Yet_ , a small, devious whisper that sounded suspiciously like what she thought she spoke like when she’d been infected on Red-K slipped into her mind.

And she blinked for a few moments to try to gain clarity, because talk about moving way too fast, if only in her own mind.

“Yes,” she agreed, excited to rid herself of the interloping thoughts. She nodded a little too fast as she pushed up from the table and quickly gathered her notebook into her arms. Because even if she didn’t know what this all was and wasn’t familiar with having this romantic energized feeling associated with Cat… she wanted more of it.

More time with Cat, more time to figure everything out. More time with this feeling buzzing through her veins. But she inwardly groaned at herself, because here was Cat Grant, showing this interest in her – and not just her as Supergirl or her as an employee, but… as _Kara_ , the woman, and then there she was… acting like an overeager puppy.

She cleared her throat and nodded again, this time slower, “I mean, I’ll walk with you. To pick up Carter.”

Cat merely took all of this in with a quirked brow and a slight tilt of her head before she dropped euros onto the table and turned on her heel, “Come on, then. Chop chop,” she added with a small grin.

And it made a piece in Kara feel like it was falling into place for some inexplicable reason. She hadn’t heard that actually spoken aloud in too long, it felt.

As they left through the small gate at the entrance and started toward the looming Colosseum, Kara walked alongside Cat and couldn’t help but just _look_ at her even as Cat was looking ahead. She seemed deep in some thought, and even though Kara was curious, she also couldn’t help but think… vacation suited her.

She looked good – not that Cat didn’t always look good! Blue eyes rolled at herself, and she huffed under her breath, grateful she didn’t say that out loud.

It was just that there was a looser, more relaxed way about her as she walked and just something about her seemed lighter in some way that Kara didn’t know. And that was even with something clearly on her mind.

With that, Kara lightly shook out the hand that wasn’t clasping her notebook like she could grasp at more confidence than she felt, “What’s on your mind?”

Now, those brown eyes looked at her, her always determined stride slowing somewhat. But something she loved about Cat was that she was never someone who would hide from a direct question, “What’s on my mind,” she repeated, musing, as she raked her eyes over Kara’s face and she swore she could feel it like she felt the light wind, “Is that while, as I said, I’ve made myself perfectly clear –”

“Have you, though?” she blurted out, cringing at herself outwardly this time because – how was it that she still managed to speak without thinking? With a small sigh, she adjusted her glasses, licking at her bottom lip before she explained, “I just… you kissed me.” Somehow she couldn’t even believe that she was having this conversation with Cat, still, “But I don’t know what that means.”

Cat came to a complete stop as she turned to look completely at her, and Kara followed. The look she got was genuinely quizzical, but there was a spark in Cat’s eye – an underlying affection that Kara relished in being focused on her.

“I know you’re still a doe-eyed ingénue,” she began playfully enough that Kara flushed and shifted from foot to foot, while Cat shook her head just a little, her hair just long enough to fall over her shoulder with the movement, “But do you not know what it means when someone kisses you, Kara?”

The words were quiet, but _full_ somehow. Full of meaning and full of actual wondering, like Cat sincerely was waiting for her to answer. And like she cared about what it would be. And maybe – wow, maybe she had been perfectly clear but Kara simply hadn’t heard it.

“Kisses can mean, well, different things,” she reasoned, shrugging softly while she shifted her notebook under her arm and twisted her hands in front of her.

Kisses could mean… comfort. Or attraction. Or lust or love or a beautiful moment. Or _I meant to kiss your cheek but caught your lips_ or _the balcony with the Eiffel Tower was too much of a beautiful background with a superhero to pass it up_.

Cat’s gaze flickered over her face, searching for something she didn’t know, and Kara’s cheeks burned. And for a moment, she felt like the world stopped, like they were the only people on the sidewalk, as her gaze dipped to Cat’s mouth. Her lips had been so soft… she hadn’t forgotten that, even though their moment of contact had been so brief.

And they still looked so soft, even while they were pursed in indecision for the moment being. It seemed like slow motion, though it happened in seconds, as Cat reached out and her fingertips slid over the back of Kara’s hands. They were clasped together tightly, but she felt like they melted under the touch that gave her shivers, and Cat’s slim hand slipped into one of hers. It was soft at first… and then she tugged.

It was only too easy for Kara to follow, even as her eyebrows pulled together in confusion. They were so close to where she assumed they’d be meeting Carter, but instead of continuing forward, she found herself pulled into a small side street.

Her eyes locked on the contact though. Firm and sure, much like Cat, but with soft, warm skin – also like Cat, but it was never the first thing anyone saw. She started to question even as she was pulled along, her voice slow, as she asked, “I – where are –”

But she found herself cut off when the contact was dropped from her hand, and she felt Cat’s fingers pushing at her shoulder. She didn’t even have to think about letting herself be pushed, and her back only just touched the wall when Cat’s hands were on her shoulders, a gentle pressure, and wide blue eyes flew from them to Cat’s face.

Which was determined and excited and coming closer to hers, and she took in a sharp breath as butterflies settled low in her stomach. She only had a second before those soft lips were on hers again. And unlike last time – the soft, easy brush – this time… it was different.

Still intense, she thought dimly. Still setting her heart beating fast – so fast she swore Cat should be able to hear it, to feel it. How could she not, when her body was so close Kara could feel her warmth radiating through her clothes and all against her own body?

Even with super hearing, she hardly registered the sound of her notebook falling as she felt Cat’s tongue swipe over her lip. And didn’t register at all her own moan when she opened her mouth and tasted Cat against her lips. Oh, Rao, her hands were shaking as they moved to brush against lithe hips. As soon as she made contact, she felt Cat sigh into her mouth, and – _wow_.

Cat’s thumbs brushed against the sides of her neck and she shivered with it. And then Cat pushed in closer, and Kara could feel her actually pressed against herself. She felt so… soft and good and Kara’s hands tightened minutely and pulled her even closer, their kiss deepening.

But then, Cat was pulling away and her body was protesting at the distance because the kiss made her mind quiet all of those questions. Kara could swear the kiss lasted for only a blink of an eye and an entire lifetime, and then Cat stroked her neck once again before pulling completely away.

She was left blinking and flustered and excited. Dazed for a second, as she continued to lean against the building, heavily lidded blue eyes blinking at the older woman for a few seconds. She wondered if maybe she was floating, as Cat whispered, “Can you tell what that kiss means?”

“I think I can figure that out,” she murmured back, the words leaving her easily. Because… yeah, she got it now. Okay, maybe she still had some questions – like _how?_ And _when?_ And _are we doing that again_? –  but there was no mistaking that there was something deeper there. The kiss hadn’t been a mistake.

Cat leaned back and the self-satisfaction was clear as day in the warm, Italian night. It was a look Kara had seen many times, but she’d never seen that directed at her in exactly that way. Like she’d _gotten_ Kara, and… she had.

It made a pleasant warmth settle inside of her, excited desire licking low under it.

An eyebrow flicked up in challenge as she crossed her arms over her chest and stared at her with Cat Grant Intensity, “Well, now that we’ve both established that I’ve made myself clear… I’m still waiting for you.”

“Me? Waiting for me to – what?” the kiss left her mind feeling still a little buzzed and jumbled, but she’d kissed back. She’d gotten maybe even too excited over it.

Cat let out a long-suffering sigh, and Kara thought it was only the tiniest bit exaggerated, before brown eyes narrowed fractionally, “Your _feelings_ ,” she annunciated, and the way she said it made Kara viscerally aware of how odd this felt. For Cat Grant to be broaching the topic of feelings and wanting to talk them out… it wasn’t something she’d often had with Cat, and obviously never like this. And it was a rush all on its own, “You’ve had time to process, to think, and now I need to know – where are you?”

There was an impatience there, and she knew it. She could hear it and feel it, because she _knew_ that this was territory she didn’t often want to explore. Yet she was doing it anyway, because she didn’t know the answer.

But under that impatience, what she hadn’t been able to see before, was concern. She didn’t know how it took her so long to realize that, to see the underlying feeling there. But the realization left her feeling a little dumbfounded.

Because… Cat was _concerned_ that Kara might not want her back the same way Cat seemed to want her, and she gaped at her, “I – you’re Cat Grant.”

It was all that could come out of her mouth, but it made perfect sense in her mind.

The words hung between them in quiet for a few moments, before Cat lifted an eyebrow. And the impatience then faded as the edges of amusement slid into her expression, her voice dry, “I’m well aware.”

Kara snorted a laugh before covering it, disbelief coloring her tone to her own ears, “It’s just… you’re Cat Grant!” she repeated, shaking her head, “You’re – you’re the most accomplished person I know; one of the most accomplished people in the entire _world_.” She finally pushed herself off of the wall, and brought one of her hands up to pull through her ponytail lightly, “And, and you’re gorgeous and brilliant and inspiring. And you’re asking about my feelings for you? Like I somehow _wouldn’t_ have them?”

She felt a smile pull at her lips, unable to stop it, as she tilted her head and blonde curls fell over her shoulder. It wasn’t that she would say she thought Cat was self-conscious… but she wouldn’t say she’d ever seen her as hesitant to answer as she was at that moment.

After a few moments, during which Cat’s eyes rolled to break their contact, looking to the right, in the direction of the Colosseum, before slowly returning back to Kara’s, she hummed in edginess. Like she didn’t like her own response but couldn’t resist saying it as the truth, “I’m also Cat Grant, who is twenty years older than you are. Cat Grant, who has a child. Children, actually, one of whom you’ve even dated. Which we shouldn’t even think about given _this_ ,” she shook her head in a way that Kara recognized from herself, which made her feel absurdly excited about, “Cat Grant, who is currently on an extended trip halfway across the world from where you live in National City.”

The smile that had been on Kara’s face fell just a bit as she took in the fact that Cat really _meant_ what she was saying. She truly believed those words to be detriments to what could possibly be between them, and she was murmuring, but voice still firm as she finished, looking Kara right in the eye, “And you’re just starting out. You have people who are young like you throwing themselves at you, and you quite literally fell from the stars.”

It was easy, in that moment. Easy to have the pieces fall into place, easy to see why Cat hadn’t reached out to her. Easy to understand where she was coming from.

But the easiness of Cat’s explanation was tempered by the vehement disagreement that bubbled up in the back of her throat, and she narrowed her eyes, “You’re right,” she spoke slowly as she took a deep breath. And then stepped forward, closer, close enough to touch even though she didn’t, “I came from another planet, and I still haven’t been able to reconcile that someone as remarkable as you wants me.”

Cat stared back at her, stunned, and it made Kara blush even as she felt proud. It wasn’t easy to stun Cat Grant, even for a few seconds.

And then Cat’s mouth curled into a smile. A slightly surprised smile, but a recognizably pleased one that reflected brightly inside of Kara for making Cat feel like that.

From a small distance, walking out from the Colosseum with a tour guide, Kara could see a group of students exiting, and she easily recognized Carter in the crowd. She saw the way his eyebrows drew together slightly in confusion, before waving to some of the people he was with.

But even though she felt a little burst of pride that Carter apparently had made some friends, Cat claimed all of her attention again. It wasn’t like it was hard for Cat to do, but especially when she said something like, “So, you’d like to see where this could go, then.”

Kara bit her lip to keep from her face exploding in a smile as she nodded, because _yes_ , that was… one of the best things she’d heard in a long time. Even if she’d come here without knowing what to expect, this – felt right. Exciting and new and yet, safe.

It was then that a giggle broke free from her, because – wow. Now that everything made sense, it was laughable. And when Cat gave her a sharp, questioning look, she explained, “You… assigned me a fake headlining interview article and made me meet you in _Rome_. This whole elaborate scheme instead of just calling me.”

Saying it aloud made her laugh again because even as she was incredulous, she also wasn’t. Of course Cat would do something like that.

And she wasn’t even embarrassed. Not that Kara really expected her to be, her voice smug, “A woman has to do what a woman has to do, Kara.”

But her entertainment only lasted for a few seconds before she groaned and her stomach sank – only slightly – before she quickly bent to pick up her fallen notebook, “Wait. I still need to get an article to Snapper, of an interview with you! It – it's a headline. You did all of this to get me here and didn't even think about the fact that I'm getting a _headline_ from this –”

She had a headlining interview with _Cat Grant_ that was due back to Snapper that very weekend!

Cat didn’t look concerned, though, and instead she crossed her arms, “Do you honestly think that I would give you a story in the highlights if I didn’t think you were going to write it well?” the slanted eyebrow she gave her was enough to tell Kara exactly what she thought along with her question.

Because there was no way Cat Grant would do something with her magazine that she didn’t think would be up to par, even if it involved _feelings_. Feelings, because Cat had legitimate feelings for her. The thought sent another thrill through her.

“I _trust_ that you’ll do a good job to write about me, Kara. Even if _this_ ,” she waved her hand between them, “hadn’t panned out as… satisfactorily as it has.”

Satisfactorily… the word made Kara’s lips quirk into a smile, even as she shook her head.

She couldn’t answer, however, before Carter had reached them. He was smiling and a little out of breath from the tour and jogging to them, and the smile he gave Kara was bright and warming, “Kara! Mom? I didn’t know Kara was coming.”

Cat glanced at her from the corner of her eye, before a soft smile graced her as she stroked her hand through Carter’s hair, “It wasn’t a big plan, but she has an article to write about me.”

His eyes narrowed in thought as he glimpsed between them, and Kara felt herself flush a bit. She wondered if there was a way he knew she’d already kissed his mother – twice. And about how she was going to deal with him knowing that there could possibly be something between them.

But he shrugged and accepted the answer, though his voice had a knowing tone that she’d heard in Cat’s voice more than once, “Okayyy.” His eyes flickered from her to his mother to and back to her, before he hummed, “Are you coming with us to get gelato? Mom knows a _really_ good place, and she said she was going to bring me.”

Blue eyes found Cat, who was looking at her in question, and she recognized her expression as an invitation. One that made her heart flutter and she tightened her hands around her notebook to keep from reaching out, “How can I turn down gelato?”

She felt victorious when Cat smiled that coy smile, “Plus, you still have some questions for me for that interview.”

“Right,” she murmured, and her eyes stayed fixed on Cat’s for a few moments, staying there until they both heard Carter try to stifle a laugh.

“Sure, the interview,” he gave them a look that Kara wasn’t sure anyone else could master – such an adult look but on such a young face – but it was knowing and it made her blush.

And when she looked back at Cat, she wasn’t _blushing_ , but she looked like she was both trying not to smile and looking abashed, and Kara found that she really enjoyed it.  

Something told her that she had a lot of things to look forward to. 

Writing _Cat Grant: The Woman Beyond Her Empire_ : an interview by Kara Danvers was only just the beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! The response to my first piece in this series was beyond what I expected, and a few more ideas just kept recurring in my mind. 
> 
> I would love to know what you think :)


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